Our Routes

There are several ways to travel to Orkney and Shetland with NorthLink Ferries.

Scrabster to Stromness

Our ship MV Hamnavoe travels from Scrabster (outside Thurso) at the very North of Mainland Scotland to Stromness in the Orkney islands. This ferry is the only one that sails past The Old Man of Hoy – a famous seastack and Orcadian landmark. The ferry sails up to six times a day.

The first sailing of the day is always from Stromness to Scrabster and the final sailing of the day, at 1900 is from Scrabster to Stromness. This sailing is ideal for travellers departing from the central belt in the morning. MV Hamnavoe docks in Stromness overnight. On the final night of your holiday, you can sleep on board the ship before taking the first morning sailing to Scrabster.

To reach Scrabster the A9 is the road to take. Take the A9 from Inverness and you’ll view stunning highland scenery – mountains in the Highlands, the flat, desolate terrain of the Flow Country and the beautiful coastal scenery of the North Coast.

When you reach Thurso, follow the signposts through the town to the ferry at Scrabster.

Aberdeen to Lerwick

We have two ferries that operate this route, MV Hjaltland and MV Hrossey, and they sail overnight, setting off at teatime and arriving at their destination first thing in the morning. Every night, One ship travels from Aberdeen to Lerwick and the other sails from Lerwick to Aberdeen. One of these ships travels directly, whilst the other stops off every night at Hatston in Orkney.

If you are travelling to Aberdeen you’ll take the A90 along the east coast of Scotland, passing some of Scotland’s loveliest beaches.

The Aberdeen Terminal is located at Jamieson’s Quay, at the heart of the city. It is directly over the road from the Union Square Shopping Centre and is a five minutes walk from the bus and train station and ten minutes walk from Union Street.

Aberdeen to Kirkwall / Kirkwall to Lerwick

An alternative way to sail to Orkney is to take the indirect ferry from Aberdeen to Hatston (outside Kirkwall) in the Orkney Islands. It’s the same ferry that goes to Shetland, departing Aberdeen at 1700, but one certain days of the week (indicated below) it stops in Hatston at 2300, before heading northwards to Shetland again at 2345.

The ferry travels from Aberdeen to Kirkwall (and then from Kirkwall to Lerwick) on a Tuesday (not in winter), Thursday, Saturday and Sunday night.

The ferry sails from Lerwick to Kirkwall (and then from Kirkwall to Aberdeen) on a Monday (not in winter), Wednesday, and Friday night.

Why not consider visiting both island groups, perhaps by travelling from Scrabster to Stromness, spending a few days in Orkney and then travelling from Kirkwall to Lerwick and spending some time in Lerwick? You can then return by sailing from Lerwick to Aberdeen!

Please visit the Your Holiday page for guides on our ports and destinations, which includes useful travel information, maps, accommodation and businesses listings.

Distances by road (in miles)

Aberdeen

Edinburgh

Glasgow

Inverness

Kyle of Lochalsh

Perth

Scrabster

Aberdeen

-

127

145

104

182

88

216

Edinburgh

127

-

46

156

201

45

268

Glasgow

145

46

-

169

175

59

281

Inverness

104

156

169

-

78

113

115

Kyle of Lochalsh

182

201

175

78

-

157

193

Perth

88

45

59

113

157

-

225

Scrabster

216

268

281

115

193

225

-

Distances by sea (in miles)

Aberdeen to Kirkwall is 154 miles

Kirkwall to Lerwick is 115 miles

Aberdeen to Lerwick is 216 miles

Scrabster to Stromness is 30 miles

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